With alternative warranty products disputes often arise in respect of wear & tear because they incorporate a "wear & tear" exclusion clause. At the time of any claim it is all too easy for the administrator to refuse your claim by saying; "of course it's broken, the car's done 40,000 miles and it's worn out.

Some warranty providers complicate matters by referring to different types of wear & tear. "Premature", "Gradual", "Normal" and "General" are terms used to confuse the consumer. 'Premature' will sometimes be covered but the others will frequently not be.

All Warranty Direct policies protect you against failure caused by a type of wear & tear because parts can fail due to wear & tear at any time. Consider these facts, the average motorist covers about 10,000 miles per year so by the end of the normal 3 year manufacturer warranty the vehicle has covered about 30,000 miles - yet 40% of vehicles require repairs in year 4 and many of these repairs can be attributed to 'wear & tear'. So beware of any policy that doesn't offer, or even suggests you don't need, wear & tear cover and always pay any extra demanded if wear & tear is unwisely promoted as an option.

If you take out one of our policies immediately before the manufacturer's original new car warranty expires your wear & tear protection will start from day one - otherwise your vehicle's wear & tear cover will start after the first 90 days.

As illustrated below, the majority of the claims we pay involve Premature or Normal Wear & Tear/Gradual Deterioration. Many vehicle parts are subject to failure due to wear and this can happen early in a car's life, or later.

UNLIKE LESSER WARRANTIES FROM OTHER WARRANTY COMPANIES AND MANUFACTURERS, BOTH PREMATURE AND NORMAL WEAR AND TEAR RELATED FAILURES ARE COVERED BY ALL* WARRANTY DIRECT POLICIES.

* Unless the Warranty Direct policy is a renewal or if it was taken out within 30 days of the original manufacturer warranty expiring, Wear & Tear claims are subject to a 90 day exclusion period.